Abstract

Alessandro Manzoni is one of the Italian writers to whom Luigi Russo devoted the greatest attention. Such a keen interest is proved by Russo's complete examination of Manzoni's works as a whole, which range from "Inni Sacri" to the tragedies ("Adelchi" and "Il conte di Carmagnola"), from "Cinque Maggio" to "I Promessi Sposi". Russo's conclusion states that Manzoni's art is based on three different elements: lyrical, reflective and oratorial. Therefore oratory is not a limit to poetry, but, together with reflection, represents a necessary passage in the dialectic process towards lyric.